The SMCE is opening NASA science for collaboration in the cloud.
Where scientists and cloud engineers partner to build the open-source systems of tomorrow.
Why choose the SMCE?
How much does it cost to use the SMCE?
Smoke off the west coast of Borneo and dueling tropical cyclones in the Philippine Sea
Parameter Optimization in Catchment-CN 4.5
From beginning runs to public presentation in 10 months
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Particle Swarm Optimization to find diversified stomatal parameters to improve local model capability.
No code changes, except for optimization.
Public presentation
SMCE Increases Speed to Science
Over 4 million Radiative Transform Simulations completed in less that 2 weeks
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Training set of over 4M samples to be computed with over 4M radiative transfer runs on average requiring 55 minutes per run
Large fast but not parallel data required
Training sets had to then be relocated and remaining data set had to be archived elsewhere.
SMCE Hosts Eclipse Explorer
Reliable, stable, robust performance,
while addressing heavy loads and
demanding capacity requirements.
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7.35 million unique IP addresses visited the Eclipse Explorer.
2.24 billion objects were requested.
Peak data transfer rate of 14TB/hour between 2pm-3pm EDT.
The SMCE is opening NASA science for collaboration in the cloud.
Where scientists and cloud engineers partner to build the open-source systems of tomorrow.
Smoke off the west coast of Borneo and dueling tropical cyclones in the Philippine Sea
Parameter Optimization in Catchment-CN 4.5
From beginning runs to public presentation in 10 months
Particle Swarm Optimization to find diversified stomatal parameters to improve local model capability.
Read More
No code changes, except for optimization.
SMCE Increases Speed to Science
Over 4 million Radiative Transform Simulations completed in less that 2 weeks
Training set of over 4M samples to be computed with over 4M radiative transfer runs on average requiring 55 minutes per run
Read More
Large fast but not parallel data required
Training sets had to then be relocated and remaining data set had to be archived elsewhere.
SMCE Hosts Eclipse Explorer
Reliable, stable, robust performance,
while addressing heavy loads and
demanding capacity requirements.
2.24 billion objects were requested.
Peak data transfer rate of 14TB/hour between 2pm-3pm EDT.
Thank You for Visiting the SMCE
We’re excited to announce a significant evolution for the SMCE. The Science Managed Cloud Environment is joining forces with EarthData Cloud and other NASA cloud environments to create the Science Cloud—a unified, powerful platform that is transforming scientific research at NASA and is available for use today.
By consolidating existing cloud environments, the Science Cloud reduces operational costs while accelerating scientific progress, streamlining collaboration, and improving user experience. The result is a more agile, secure, and innovative computing environment.
The Science Cloud is ready for use by FISMA Low projects, with expanded FISMA Moderate capabilities coming by early 2026. While development continues toward the full MVP by February 2027, researchers can start leveraging the platform today.
The Science Cloud is ready for use by FISMA Low projects, with expanded FISMA Moderate capabilities coming by early 2026. While development continues toward the full MVP by February 2027, researchers can start leveraging the platform today.
Science Cloud Key Features:
Commercial Cloud Access – Connect to commercial providers directly with cutting-edge AI and machine learning capabilities
Standardized Security Guardrails – Deploy FISMA low and moderate environments tailored to your project requirements
Science-Ready Environments – Start immediately with the Research Platform, a scalable JupyterHub environment optimized for science
Shared Services – Accelerate projects with GitLab repositories and CI/CD pipelines for collaborative development
High-Performance Computing – Access powerful cloud computing resources with 24/7 availability, global accessibility, and instant scalability to meet your needs
Simplified Authentication – Authenticate with single identity access across all Science Cloud providers, including PIV authentication
Ready to explore what the Science Cloud can do for your research? Visit us today to learn more about making the transition.
The SMCE runs on Amazon’s AWS and Microsoft’s Azure Clouds
Welcome to the SMCE
The Science Managed Cloud Environment (SMCE) provides quick access to the cloud, with low barriers to access. Principal Investigators (PIs) and their delegates get direct access to Amazon’s AWS and/or Microsoft’s Azure consoles for their cloud offering development, or the SMCE can deploy an Open Science Studio (OSS), which is a robust, scalable JupyterHub environment. The SMCE can also provide a Public OSS designed and constrained for open public access. The cloud environment is currently available in either Amazon’s AWS or Microsoft’s Azure Public Cloud offerings, and SMCE plans to continue to expand access to other commercial clouds. If you need some help in getting started with servers, storage, or clusters, the SMCE is also there to aid you and to right size these efforts.
Picture from JWST Hourglass birth of new star
Existing Projects in the SMCE
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Atmospheric Observing System (AOS)
Atmospheric Observing System (AOS) Science Data Segment (SDS) The Atmosphere Observing System (AOS) mission aims…
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Open Science Data Repository (OSDR)
Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) The NASA Open Science Data Repository (OSDR) enables access to…
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OpenSARLab
OpenSARLab OpenSARLab offers seamless access to SAR processing in the cloud through a JupyterLab environment….
Picture from ICESAT-2 Launch
How Do I Get Started
The SMCE is a project-based offering. All projects must be NASA funded, which does include ROSES grant funding. Such Principal Investigators (PIs) interested in establishing a project within the SMCE should send an email to the SMCE Team. Once a request has been received, the SMCE Management and User Liaison will reach out to the PI to discuss requirements, solutions, and develop an initial cost estimate. You can also get cost estimates for your NASA sponsored research proposals. It typically takes less than a week from initial contact to starting to work in the cloud.
Who Can Access the SMCE?
The SMCE is FISMA Low (Federal Information Security Modernization Act, Low Risk) compliant. This enables project PIs to have complete control over who is allowed to join their project and each user’s access level. Projects are required to provide a Project System Administrator responsible for maintaining the systems of the project. The SMCE team can provide support for certain activities in the cloud, however, this needs to be discussed with the PI prior to obtaining access.
Picture from JWST Deep Universe